Lading filler

ABSTRACT

A lading filler having a frame which is either stationarily mounted on a wall of a railway car or the like or is moveable along a sidewall on elongated tracks. A panel is adjustably mounted on the frame by two sets of moveable crossed arms and each set is connected by a pair of moveable tie bars. A locking arrangement is provided for locking the panel in one of its adjusted positions which includes a member which is moveable by and in the same direction as ends of the crossed arms. Further latching means are provided for locking the panel to the frame and for preventing movement along the sidewall.

United States Patent '[72] Inventors Henry D. Breen Chicago; Russell M.Loomis, Palos Heights, 111. [21] Appl. No. 758,747 [22} Filed Sept. 10,1968 [45] Patented Feb. 2, 1971 [7 3 Assignee Unarco Industries acorporation of lllinois 54 LADING FILLER 13 Claims, 11 Drawing Figs.

1,517,100 11/1924 Bacon Primary ExaminerDrayton E. Hoffman Au0rneyNormanLettvin ABSTRACT: A lading filler having a frame which is eitherstationarily mounted on a wall of a railway car or the like or ismoveable along a sidewall on elongated tracks. A panel is adjustablymounted on the frame by two sets of moveable crossed arms and each setis connected by a pair of moveable tie bars. A locking arrangement isprovided for locking the panel in one of its adjusted positions whichincludes a member which is moveable by and in the same direction as endsof the crossed arms. Further latching means are provided for locking thepanel to the frame and for preventing movement along the sidewall.

' against the load to LADING FILLER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to lading fillers and. more particularly to adjustablefillers for use in a freight-carrying vehicle.

When shipping various types of goods in packages or cartons, itfrequently becomes necessary to confine the goods against lateral ortransverse shifting in the shipping car. To prevent such lateralshifting, side or end fillers have been provided which are mounted oncrossed scissorslike arms in the car, and are effective to vary theinterior width or length of the car so as to confine the cartons orpackages and prevent their lateral movement in the car. The crossed armmounting renders the filler adjustable relative to the car wall so as toaccommodate a variety of sizes of cartons or packages. It is furtherdesirable at times, that the fillers be adjusted longitudinally of thecar so as to accommodate loads of various lengths. Longitudinaladjustability of the side filler also obviates interference between theside filler and transverse lading divider bulkheads when a dividerbulkhead is placed prevent longitudinal shifting of the cargo duringshipment.

, A lading filler constructed in accordance with the principles I of ourinvention includes a locking bar which is moveable by and in the samedirection as the ends of the crossed arms to be positioned thereby toreceive a locking means to lock the panel in one of a plurality ofpositions, while retaining the rapid and easy adjustment features of acrossed arm mounting. In our filler the arms of each of the sets ofcrossed arms move in unison parallel to each other and are tied togetherby a tie bar thereby substantially strengthening the adjustable sidefiller arrangement. Moreover, the tie bar may itself form the lockingbar. The filler is also capable of rapid adjustment longitudinally ofthe car if desired and may be locked in one of a plurality oflongitudinal positions. Also the filler of our invention is laterallystable and simplified over the prior side fillers and is extremelyrugged while being easy to operate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a principal aspect, a lading fillerconstructed in accordance with the principles of our invention, includesa wall frame supported on one of the walls of a freight-carrying vehicleand a vertical panel extending substantially over the height of thewall. The panel is adjustably mounted on the wall frame by crossed armmeans including first and second pairs of the arms each of which haveends which are slideably moveable adjacent the wall frame and the panel,respectively. Each of the pair of arms are pivotally connected togetherand a locking bar is located adjacent the panel and is connected to thearm ends which slide adjacent the panel. The sliding movement of thesliding arm ends moves the locking bar in the same direction andpositions the locking bar to receive a locking means carried on thepanel to lock the locking bar in one of a plurality of positions tospace the panel from the wall by a predetermined distance.

This and other objects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill be more clearly understood through a consideration of the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the course of this descriptionreference will be frequently made to the attached drawings in which;

FIG. 1 is an overall view of the lading filler arrangement of thepresent invention as installed in a freight-carrying vehicle or car, thefiller being longitudinally adjustable;

FIG. 2 is a broken front elevation view of the wall frame of thearrangement shown in FIG. 1 showing the longitudinally adjustablemounting arrangement;

FIG. 3 is a broken side elevation view of the wall frame and mountingarrangement of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a part of the filler arrangement of myinvention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the filler of my invention showingthe wall frame stationarily mounted on a wall of the car;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectioned rear elevation view of the fillerarrangement taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5 and showing the back of thepanel and one embodiment of locking arrangement;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectioned plan view of the filler arrangement takenalong line 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an elevation view of an alternative embodiment of lockingarrangement;

FIG. 9 is an elevation view of a friction-type embodiment of lockingarrangement;

FIG. 10 is an elevation view of a pawl and ratchet embodiment of lockingarrangement; and

FIG. 11 is an elevation view of another embodiment of lockingarrangement having a single locking pin and bar.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, apreferred embodiment of lading filler constructed in accordance with theprinciples of our invention is shown located in a freight carryingvehicle or car. The car includes a floor l0 and is enclosed by aplurality of vertical sidewalls, sidewall 11 being shown. As is commonpractice, various packages or articles 12 to be shipped are stowed inthe shipping vehicle either directly upon the floor 10 of the vehicle orfrequently, as shown in FIG. I, the articles or packages are palletized.In either event during the course of shipping, movement of the vehicletends to cause the articles or packages of cargo to shift laterallyand/or longitudinally in the vehicle frequently causing the articles orpackages to fall to the floor or strike the walls of the vehicle withsufficient impact to result in damage to the cargo. To prevent suchshifting of the cargo, a plurality of lading fillers, generally shown at13, are provided which may be adjusted with relation to the sidewall 11of the vehicle to closely confine the cargo. The side fillers 13 shownin FIG. 1 are longitudinally adjustable so as to be positioned along thelength of the vehicle depending upon where the cargo is located in thevehicle. It will be appreciated that under certain conditions, thelongitudinal adjustment of the side fillers 13 is unnecessary and thelongitudinal positioning structure may be eliminated and the sidefillers attached directly to the sidewall, as shown in FIG. 5. Whetheror not the side filler 13 is longitudinally adjustable, the side filleris arranged to be laterally adjustable to accommodate loads of varyingwidths, the lateral adjusting structure to be described in detailhereinafter.

Referring to FIGS. 4-7, the side filler 13 includes a generallyrectangular wall frame 14 which may be either stationarily mounted uponthe sidewall 11 of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 5, or may be mounted forlongitudinal movement as will be described in more detail later. Thewall frame 14 includesa pair of vertical flat members 16 spaced fromeach other and rigidly connected together by upper and lowercrossmembers 18 to form a rigid generally rectangular frame. A verticalpanel 20, constructed of suitable sheet material such as plywood or thelike, is provided and firmly affixed to the wall side of the panel 20 isa second generally rectangular frame 22 constructed of rigid verticalchannel members 24 and horizontal channel members 25. Each verticalchannel member 24 includes a web 26 and a relatively wide flange 27 andnarrow flange 28. The wide flange 27 of each of the vertical channels 24is affixed to the back face of the panel 20 by suitable means such asbolts 30 or the like. The web 26 and the wide and narrow flanges 27 and28 of the channels 24 form a guide track 31, shown in FIG. 7, and whichwill be explained in more detail later.

An upper and lower set of crossed arms 32 and 33, respectively, areprovided to adjustably mount the panel 20 with respect to the wall frame14. The upper set of crossed arms 32 is identical to the lower set ofcrossed arms 33. Therefore, like reference numerals will be employed forlike components and the components and arrangement of the upper set ofcrossed arms only will be described. Referring particularly to FIG. 4.the crossed arms include a first or inner pair of arms 34 which arepivotally attached at one of their ends by a pin 36 journailed throughaligned apertures in an apertured bracket 38 which is fixed to the wideflange 27 ofchannels 24. as by welding. The pins 36 also pass through anaperture 40 in a tab extension 41 of each of the arms 34. The other endsof the arms 34 carry a tubular knucklelike member 42 having a roundedsurface which is adapted to pivotably and slideably contact the flatoutwardly facing side of each of tabs 44 and slide in a verticaldirection thereon. Tabs 44 are attached to the wall side of verticalmembers 16. The edges of the outwardly extending tabs 44 are bentoutwardly at 45 to strengthen the tabs.

A second or outer pair of arms 46 are each provided at one of their endswith an apertured tab extension 47 which is pivotally pinned to flangetabs 48 which extend outwardly from the horizontal member 18 of the wallframe 14. The other ends of the arms 46 are rigidly connected to eachother by a crossbar 50 which terminates in a pair of outwardly extendingpins 52. A pair of vertical tie bars 54 are provided extending betweenthe extending pins 52 of the upper set of crossed arms 32 and theoutwardly extending pins 52 of the lower set of crossed arms 33. Eachend of the tie bars 54 carries a tubular bushing 55 and each of theoutwardly extending pins 52 isjoumaled into the bushings 55. The tubularbushings S and pins 52 are, in turn, slideably carried in the guidetrack 31 of the vertical channels 24 of the panel frame 22, as shown inFIG. 7. Each pair of arms 34 and 46 are pivotally connected to eachother intermediate their ends by pins 56. Cross braces 58 and 59 areprovided to rigidly connect each of the arms 34 and 46, respectively,together to provide a rigid structure.

The crossed arms 34 and 46 and their pivotal connections and a slideableconnection 52 provide a firm structure which resists wobbling andlateral movement of the panel. Thus. if a lateral force is imposed onthe panel, the force will be transmitted to the brackets 38 and channel24 rigidly affixed to the back of the panel, through the arms and pivotpins 56 to the tabs 48 on the wall frame, firmly resisting any lateralmovement or twisting of the panel. A force perpendicular to face of thepanel will be distributed to the wall frame via bracket 38 and rigidchannel 24 and pins 52 through the arms 34 and 46 to the tabs 48 andknucklelike members 42 and tabs 44. Moreover, the forces will tend to beequalized between the upper and lower sets of crossed arms 32 and 33since they will be transmitted through the rigid channels 24 and tiebars 54, the rigid channels 24 diverting a major portion of such forcesfrom the locking arrangement which will now be described.

One pin and aperture embodiment of locking arrangement for locking thepanel in spaced relation to the sidewall is shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. Acrossmember 60 is attached to the flanges 27 of vertical channels 24 asby welding. An operating lever 62 is pivotally attached, as by pin 63,intermediate the vertical channels 24, the pin 63 acting as a pivotfulcrum. Connector links 65 and 66, in turn, are pivotally pinned bypins 68 above and below the fulcrum and locking pins 70 and 71 arethreaded into each of the connector links 65 and 66, respectively, thelocking pins extending horizontally toward each of the tie bars 54. Thelocking pins 70 and 71 are slideably journaled through tubular guidemembers 72 attached to each wide flange 27. The tie bars 54 include aseries of apertures or holes 74 spaced from each other by apredetermined distance. The location and spacing of the holes 74determine the various adjusted positions of the panel 20 with respect tothe wall frame 14. For example, when the panel is spaced at its maximumdistance from the wall frame, as shown in the solid line position inFIG. 5, the panel will be locked in place by the insertion of each ofthe locking pins 70 and 71 in the lowermost of the tie bar apertures 74since the tie bars 54 will have been displaced upwardly to their maximumelevation. As the panel 20 is moved nearer the wall frame, as shown inthe dot-anddash line position in FIG. 5. the locking pins 70 and 71 maybe inserted in successively higher ones of the apertures 74, if it isdesired to lock the panel in one of its successive nearer positions.Tabs 76 are carried on each tie bar 54 and are adapted to engage thetubular guide members 72 as the tie bars 54 move upwardly, thus actingas a stop for establishing the maximum spacing of the panel 20 from thewall frame 14. A spring 78 is attached between the operating lever 62and the cross member 60 to normally urge the respective locking pins 70and 71 into their locking position. The end of the handle is disposedadjacent an aperture 80 in the panel to enable the operator to inserthis hand from the front of the panel to move the locking pins 70 and 71out oflocking relationship with the tie bar apertures 74.

An alternate embodiment of pin and aperture locking means is shown inFIG. 8. In this embodiment a T-shaped operating lever 82 is providedwhich is pivotally attached at 83 to a bracket 84 which, in turn. isfixed to one of the flanges 27, as by welding. The locking pins 70 and71, at their connector links 65 and 66, are pivotally pinned to the endsof the cross arm portion of the T-shaped lever 82 and extendhorizontally toward the apertures 74 of the tie bars 54 through C-shapedbracket guides 86 which are fixed to the flanges 27. One of the legs 87of each of the C-shaped guides is located adjacent the tie bar 54 andthe other leg 88 is located toward the connector link. An aperturedplate 89 is located in the guide track 31 and each of the legs 87 and 88and the plate 89 are aperturcd to receive the locking piris 70 and 71.Each of the locking pins 70 and 71 carries a fixed pin 90 and a spring92 extends between the leg 88 of the C-shaped guide and the pin 90,urging each locking pin toward its respective tie bar, through one ofthe bars apertures 74 and thence through the aperture of the aperturedplate 89 to lock the panel in position.

Referring to FIG. 9, a friction-type locking arrangement is shown. Theoperating lever arrangement is substantially the same as that shown inFIG. 6, however, the locking pins 70 and 71 have been replaced withactuating arms and a friction eccentric performs the locking function.The eccentric 94 is pivotally attached to flange 27 at 95. The eccentric94 includes a pair of operating arms 97 and 98 extending in oppositedirections and an eccentric contact surface 99. One of the operatingarms 98 is connected by a spring 100 to the crossmember 60 and the otheroperating arm 97 is attached to the actuating arm 102 of the operatinglever. A wedging surface 104 is provided within the guide track 31 ofeach of the vertical channels 24, the wedging surface 104 lying closelyadjacent one side of the tie bar 54. The eccentric surface 99 isnormally urged into frictional contacting engagement with the other sideof the tie bar 54 to lock the panel into position by wedging the tie bar54 between the wedging surface 104 and the surface 99 of the eccentric.To unlock the panel, the operating lever is actuated, as previouslydescribed, by pulling the actuating arm 102 in the direction indicatedby the arrow in FIG. 9, thus rotating the eccentric surface 99 out ofcontact with the tie bar 54.

A pawl-and-ratchet locking arrangement is shown in FIG. 10. Aspreviously described with respect to FIG. 9, the operating lever 62carries a pair of actuating arms 102 each of which are connected attheir extreme ends to a pawl 106. The pawl 106 is pivotally mounted at108 on flange 27 and a spring 110 is connected between the other end ofthe pawl and either the panel 20 itself or the crossmember 60. The tiebar 54, rather than having spaced apertures as previously described,carries a plurality of ratchet teeth 112 positioned as previouslydescribed with respect to the apertures 74. A wedging surface 113 isalso preferably provided to prevent distortion of the tie bar 54. Thespring 110 normally urges each of the pawls 106 into contact with one ofthe ratchet teeth 112, locking the panel into position. To unlock thepanel, the operating lever 62 is moved to the dotted line position,overcoming the spring pressure and disengaging each pawl 106 from itsrespective ratchet tooth 112.

In FIG. 11 an embodiment is shown of an arrangement having a singlelocking bar and pin. A locking bar 114 is suspended from the crossbar 50of the upper set of crossed arms 32 by a pair of angled brackets 116 and117. Each of the angled brackets 116 and 117 carries a tubular member118 at one end. and the crossbar 50 is journaled through the tubularmembers. In order to absorb cargo-shifting shocks and reduce thepossibility of damage to the locking arrangement during shipment. ashock absorbing arrangement may be provided to insulate the locking bar114 from the shocks. The shock absorber includes a housing structure 120which is attached at the ends of the angled brackets 116 and 117opposite their tubular members 118. The upper end of the locking bar 114terminates in a pistonlike member 122 within the housing 120 and a pin123 extends upwardly therefrom through the end of the housing. A pin123' or other suitable means is provided to prevent the piston fromfalling from the housing. A spring 124 extends about the pin 123 betweenthe pistonlike member 122 and the end of the housing 120 to absorb theshock and normally urges the piston 122 downwardly. as viewed in FIG.11. The locking bar 114 carries a plurality of spaced apertures 126which are adapted to receive the locking pin similar to the apertures 74previously described. In this embodiment the operating lever 62 ispivotally attached at 63 to the crossmember 60 as before but only theupper locking pin 70 is carried at the end of the lever, the pinextending through an apertured U-shaped guide member 127, whichstraddles the locking bar 114. The operation of the single locking barand pin embodiment is substantially identical to the previouslydescribed embodiments. It should be noted that the locking bar 114 willmove in the same direction and by the same amount as the tie bars 54when the panel is being positioned since it is attached by angledbrackets 116 and 117 to the moveable crossbar 50.

In order to latch the panel adjacent the wall frame 14 when the panel isnot in use, a latching arrangement is provided. Referring to FIGS. 5 and6, a spring loaded plunger 128 is carried by a bracket 130 on the backface of the panel. A spring 132 exerts a downward force on the plungerbetween the upper leg 134 of the bracket and the plunger 128. Theplunger 128 is adapted to engage a bracket 136 fixed to the wall frame14. To store the side filler, the panel 20 is moved horizontally closeto the wall frame 14 to the dot-and-dash line position shown in FIG. 5.The tapered end of the plunger 128 rides upwardly upon the bracket 136and then snaps downwardly behind the bracket 136, locking the panelagainst the wall frame 14. An extension 138 for finger manipulation, iscarried by the plunger 128 and is aligned with an aperture 140 in theface of the panel to provide for operation of the plunger from the frontof the panel. To release the panel from the wall frame, the plunger 128is lifted upwardly by lifting the extension 138, disengaging the plungerfrom the bracket 136 and allowing the panel to be moved outwardly awayfrom the wall frame.

In order to provide an indication of the position of the panel withrespect to the wall frame, a gauge strip 142 having indicia thereon issuspended from crossbar 50, the crossbar being journaled through atubular member 143 carried at an end of the strip, and an opening 144 isprovided in the panel to enable the operator to view the gauge stripfrom the front of the panel, as shown in FIG. 6. When the panel 20 is inthe stored position against the wall frame, the crossbar 50 and gaugestrip 142 will be in their lowermost position exposing appropriateindicia through the opening 144. As the panel is moved away from thewall frame 14, the crossbar 50 rises, raising the gauge strip 142 andprogressively exposing different indicia through the opening 144.

The arrangement for moving the side filler longitudinally of the car isshown in FIGS. 13. A pair of tracks 146 and 148 are affixed to thesidewall 11 of the car and extend longitudinally thereof. The uppertrack 146 is generally channelshaped, the upper flange of which isturned upwardly along its edge to define a guide rail 150 between thethe upwardly turned edge 152 and the sidewall 11 for receiving a pair ofside filler mounted rollers 166. The lower flange 154 of the upper track146 includes a plurality of spaced apertures 156 for receiving alatching pin. The lower track is also generally channel-shaped, the openend facing upwardly to receive an extended portion 158 of the verticalmembers 16 of the wall frame. The web 160 of the lower track 148 alsocarries a plurality of spaced apertures 162 for receipt of anotherlatching pm.

The wall frame 14 carries a pair of upward extensions 164 which areattached to the wall frame, as by welding, and extend slightly above thetop of the panel 20 anda pair of rollers 166 are rotatably mountedthereon. Attached betweenthe top of one of the vertical members 16 ofthe wall frame and the sidewall 11 are upper and lower plate members 168and 169 each having an aperture 170 extending between their faces. Alsoattached to one of the upward extensions 164 is a plate member 171 whichextends into the open channel rail 146. the plate member 171 also havingan aperture 172. An upwardly extending tapered latching pin 173 extendsthrough the apertures 170 of the plates 168 and 169, upwardly throughone of the apertures 156 in the lower flange 154 of track 146 andthrough the aperture 172 in plate 171. A pair of spaced apertured plates174 are also fixed to the lower end of the vertical member 16 of thewall frame and a second tapered latching pin 176 extends downwardlythrough the apertures 178 of the plates 174 and through one of theapertures 162 in lower track 148. Each of the latching pins 173 and'176carries a pin 180 and a spring 182 extends between the pin 180 of eachof the latching pins 173 and 176 and plates 169 and the upper one ofplates 174, respectively. The springs 182 urge the upper pin 173 in anupward latching direction through one of the apertures 156 in the uppertrack 146 and the lower pin 176 in a downward latching direction throughone of the spaced apertures 162 in the lower tracks 148. Thus, each ofthe pins latch the wall frame of the side filler and prevent eitherlongitudinal movement parallel to the sidewall 1 1 or swinging movementof the bottom of the wall frame away from the sidewall. A flexible chainor cord 184 is attached between the lower end of the upper pin 173 andthe upper end of the lower pin 176. To unlateh the side filler forlongitudinal movement, the cord 184 need merely be pulled to overcomethe spring force of springs 182 resulting in a simultaneous withdrawalof the upper pin 173 and the lower pin 176 from their respectiveapertures 156 and 162. The cord 184 is preferably located adjacent aside of the panel to allow easy access.

To position the side fillers described above, the operator inserts afinger through aperture 140 and lifts the latch plunger 128 releasingthe panel from the bracket 136 to allow movement of the panel away fromthe wall frame 14. The operator then reaches through aperture 80 andmoves the locking arrangement operating lever 62 to the dotted lineposition as shown in the FIGS. Referring particularly to the embodimentshown in FIGS. 46, movement to this position withdraws the latching pins70 and 71 from the tie bar apertures 74. The operator may then pull thevertical panel 20 forward to its desired spaced position from thesidewall and in close relation to the cargo to be protected whileholding the locking lever in the dotted line position, as shown in FIG.6. As the panel moves forward, arms 34 pivot about their brackets 38 andthe knucklelike members 42 of each arm 34 slide upwardly along the guidetabs 44. Simultaneously arms 46 pivot about their brackets 48 and pins56 and their extended pins 52 and the tie rod bushings 55 move upwardlyin the guide track 31 of the vertical channels 24 of the panel frame. Itwill be noted that the extended pins 52 of each of the crossed arm sets32 and 33 move upwardly in the same direction and at the same rate sinceeach are connected together by the tie rods 54. The panel is preventedfrom being extended too far from the wall frame by the tabs 76 on thetie rods 54 which contact the locking pin tubular guide 72 preventingfurther upward movemerit of each tie rod 54 and, thus, preventingfurther outward movement of the panel 20. When the panel has beenpositioned in its desired spaced relationship from the wall frame 14,the locking arrangement operating lever 62 is released and the spring 78immediately urges the locking pins 70 and 71 toward their respective tierod and into the appropriate tie rod aperture 74. locking the panel intoits selected position. The operator at all times is aware of the panelspacing by observing the moveable gauge strip 142 attached to the crossrod 50 which becomes progressively exposed through the panel aperture144 as the cross rod 50 moves upwardly. The gauge strip 142 isparticularly useful where the side fillers are to be prepositioned priorto the loading cargo. To store the side filler. the above describedoperation is merely reversed.

Although the lading filler of our invention has been described in termsof a sidewall filler. it will be appreciated that the filler may also bearranged on the end walls of the vehicle.

It should also be understood that the embodiments of the presentinvention which have been described are merely illustrative of a fewapplications of the principles of the invention. Numerous modificationsmay be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the truespirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a lading filler adapted to be stored in closely spaced relation toa wall of a freight-carrying vehicle and adapted to move to selectedpositions spaced from and parallel to the stored position under theguidance of at least one pair of pivoted arms, the improvementcomprising, in combination: rigid frame means arranged to lie in a planeparallel to and spaced from said wall and adapted to move toward andaway from said wall, elongated slideway means attached to said rigidframe means for movement therewith and located between the verticalplanes of the frame means and the wall, brace means pivotally attachedintermediate the ends of one of said pair of arms and having one endconnected at one of said frame means and said wall, an elongated tie barmeans pivotally connected between said pair of pivoted an'ns and locatedadjacent and substantially parallel to said slideway means and includingmeans cooperating with said slideway means to render said tie bar meansmoveable only in opposite vertical directions substantially parallel tosaid slideway means, said pair of arms being in continuous spacedparallel relationship to each other and inclined to the planes of saidframe means and said wall and each pivotally connected adjacent one endto said tie bar means and pivoted at their other end adjacent said wallwhereby the frame means may move relative to the wall in directionsperpendicular to the planes of the frame means and the wall whilecausing sliding of the tie bar means and pivoting of the spaced armsabout their respective pivot axes, locking bar means pivotally attachedto at least one of said arms and moveable in the same direction as saidone arm end in a direction substantially parallel to said frame means,and locking means carried on said frame means and being moveable to afirst position in which said locking means engages said locking barmeans in at least one of a plurality of positions to lock the framemeans a predetermined distance from the wall and being moveable to asecond position to disengage said locking means from said locking barmeans.

2. The filler of claim 1 wherein said locking means includes aneccentric surface which frictionally engages said locking bar means whensaid locking means is in said first position.

3. The filler of claim 1 wherein said locking bar means includes aplurality of ratchet teeth and said locking means includes a pawl whichengages said rachet teeth when said locking means is in said firstposition.

4. The filler ofclaim 1 wherein said plurality of positions are definedby a plurality of apertures on said locking bar means and said lockingmeans includes a pin which is inserted in a selected one of saidapertures when said locking means is in said first position.

5. The filler of claim 4 wherein said slideway means comprises a pair ofguide channels, and said locking bar means comprises a single barlocated between said channels and substantially parallel thereto. t

6. The filler of claim 5 including shock absorbing means mounting saidlocking bar to said one end of one of said arms which slide adjacentsaid panel.

7. The filler of claim 1 wherein said locking means includes urgingmeans normally urging said locking means into said first position, andlever means for overcoming said urging means to move said locking meansto said second position.

8. The filler of claim 1 wherein said locking bar means are defined bysaid elongated tie bar means.

9. The filler of claim 1 including: second rigid frame means adjacentsaid wall, each of said arms being pivotally mounted at their said otherends on said second frame means, track means mounted adjacent said wall,mounting means moveably mounting said second frame means on said trackmeans for longitudinal movement therealong, frame locking means mountedon said second frame means for locking said second frame means toprevent said longitudinal movement thereof, guide means spacedvertically from said track means for guiding said second frame means insaid longitudinal movement, said track means and said guide meansincluding a plurality of spaced apertures, said frame locking meansincluding a pair of pins one of which is normally urged into one of theapertures in said track means and the other of which is normally urgedinto one of the apertures in said guide means, each of said pinspreventing said longitudinal movement, and means for simultaneouslywithdrawing said pins from the apertures.

10. The filler of claim 1 wherein said brace means includes at least oneadditional brace arm pivotally attached intermediate the ends of one ofsaid pair of arms and having one end pivotally connected to said framemeans.

1 l. The filler of claim 10 wherein the end of said additional brace armopposite said one end both slides and pivots relative to the wall whensaid frame means is moved relative to the wall.

12. The filler of claim 10 including stop means on said rigid framemeans arranged to engage said tie bar means for limiting the amount ofrelative movement between said frame means and said wall.

13. The filler of claim 1 comprising first, second, third and forth setsof crossed arms pivotally connected together and each having ends whichare slideable closely adjacent and parallel to said frame means and saidwall, said first and second sets and said third and fourth sets beingconnected together respectively, and said tie bar means pivotallyconnects at least some of the an'ns of said first and third sets andsaid second and fourth sets together, respectively.

1. In a lading filler adapted to be stored in closely spaced relation toa wall of a freight-carrying vehicle and adapted to Move to selectedpositions spaced from and parallel to the stored position under theguidance of at least one pair of pivoted arms, the improvementcomprising, in combination: rigid frame means arranged to lie in a planeparallel to and spaced from said wall and adapted to move toward andaway from said wall, elongated slideway means attached to said rigidframe means for movement therewith and located between the verticalplanes of the frame means and the wall, brace means pivotally attachedintermediate the ends of one of said pair of arms and having one endconnected at one of said frame means and said wall, an elongated tie barmeans pivotally connected between said pair of pivoted arms and locatedadjacent and substantially parallel to said slideway means and includingmeans cooperating with said slideway means to render said tie bar meansmoveable only in opposite vertical directions substantially parallel tosaid slideway means, said pair of arms being in continuous spacedparallel relationship to each other and inclined to the planes of saidframe means and said wall and each pivotally connected adjacent one endto said tie bar means and pivoted at their other end adjacent said wallwhereby the frame means may move relative to the wall in directionsperpendicular to the planes of the frame means and the wall whilecausing sliding of the tie bar means and pivoting of the spaced armsabout their respective pivot axes, locking bar means pivotally attachedto at least one of said arms and moveable in the same direction as saidone arm end in a direction substantially parallel to said frame means,and locking means carried on said frame means and being moveable to afirst position in which said locking means engages said locking barmeans in at least one of a plurality of positions to lock the framemeans a predetermined distance from the wall and being moveable to asecond position to disengage said locking means from said locking barmeans.
 2. The filler of claim 1 wherein said locking means includes aneccentric surface which frictionally engages said locking bar means whensaid locking means is in said first position.
 3. The filler of claim 1wherein said locking bar means includes a plurality of ratchet teeth andsaid locking means includes a pawl which engages said rachet teeth whensaid locking means is in said first position.
 4. The filler of claim 1wherein said plurality of positions are defined by a plurality ofapertures on said locking bar means and said locking means includes apin which is inserted in a selected one of said apertures when saidlocking means is in said first position.
 5. The filler of claim 4wherein said slideway means comprises a pair of guide channels, and saidlocking bar means comprises a single bar located between said channelsand substantially parallel thereto.
 6. The filler of claim 5 includingshock absorbing means mounting said locking bar to said one end of oneof said arms which slide adjacent said panel.
 7. The filler of claim 1wherein said locking means includes urging means normally urging saidlocking means into said first position, and lever means for overcomingsaid urging means to move said locking means to said second position. 8.The filler of claim 1 wherein said locking bar means are defined by saidelongated tie bar means.
 9. The filler of claim 1 including: secondrigid frame means adjacent said wall, each of said arms being pivotallymounted at their said other ends on said second frame means, track meansmounted adjacent said wall, mounting means moveably mounting said secondframe means on said track means for longitudinal movement therealong,frame locking means mounted on said second frame means for locking saidsecond frame means to prevent said longitudinal movement thereof, guidemeans spaced vertically from said track means for guiding said secondframe means in said longitudinal movement, said track means and saidguide means including a plurality of spaced apertures, said fRamelocking means including a pair of pins one of which is normally urgedinto one of the apertures in said track means and the other of which isnormally urged into one of the apertures in said guide means, each ofsaid pins preventing said longitudinal movement, and means forsimultaneously withdrawing said pins from the apertures.
 10. The fillerof claim 1 wherein said brace means includes at least one additionalbrace arm pivotally attached intermediate the ends of one of said pairof arms and having one end pivotally connected to said frame means. 11.The filler of claim 10 wherein the end of said additional brace armopposite said one end both slides and pivots relative to the wall whensaid frame means is moved relative to the wall.
 12. The filler of claim10 including stop means on said rigid frame means arranged to engagesaid tie bar means for limiting the amount of relative movement betweensaid frame means and said wall.
 13. The filler of claim 1 comprisingfirst, second, third and forth sets of crossed arms pivotally connectedtogether and each having ends which are slideable closely adjacent andparallel to said frame means and said wall, said first and second setsand said third and fourth sets being connected together respectively,and said tie bar means pivotally connects at least some of the arms ofsaid first and third sets and said second and fourth sets together,respectively.